GoldSphere Novels

Chapter 20 - State of Matter

John felt tempted to accept the deal, but he wanted to know if it was worth it before making a decision. “Can you tell me the part about the essence first? If I don’t think it’s worth it, you can just kill me, right?”

Sage Full Blue turned his head to the side again. “I do not kill. But I can tell you that the information will be worth it now.”

John furrowed his brows in confusion. “You didn’t know earlier; how come you can say for certain now?”

“... I ca...

Chapter 19 - Full Blue

One of the larger trees in the area was chosen as a temporary base. It had a small hole under one of the branches, partly hidden by leaves, that was just large enough for someone to crawl through.

‘This will have to do for now… ‘

It had taken some time to carve enough room for him to sit comfortably, but he did manage in the end, using the shortsword as his tool. Now he sat leaning against the wall, resting. All the fighting and running had left him tired, but also ...

Chapter 18 - Bloody Demon

Hanging on the side of the tree, John prepared himself to attack as soon as the first monkey came into view. ‘Okay, let go of the sword, then airblast with my full weight, then lower weight to increase speed by… about seventy percent… Or is it thirty? Then summon Larang and use a piercing attack!’

With the plan ready and his legs filled with essence, he waited for the right moment to pounce. The sounds of steps on the strangely soft trees were steadily approaching, soun...

Chapter 17 - Monkey Business

John slowly approached the monkey-looking creature, hoping it wouldn’t attack as he approached. He felt confident in being able to defend himself, but he had a slight hope that he wouldn’t have to.

He tried carefully jumping to the closest tree in the direction of the mimicking monkey, checking its reaction as soon as he landed.

It only reacted by tilting its head in the other direction, still staring back at him.

John decided to jump again, landing on the tree closest t...

Chapter 16 - Inverted

John was looking around again, desperately searching for any signs of danger. He knew that anything making an invoker despair would be the death of him, but he would at least fight. He glanced over at Serah again, who seemed surprisingly calm now.

“Serah, any idea what’s happening?”

She shook her head. “Not really. But it’s something bad.”

‘Yeah, no shit. Is this what the Lady was referencing?’

Hans had gotten up on his feet again, but he was p...

Chapter 15 - Gamma Portal

As he stood before her, John considered what he should do. In his world, kneeling, or at least bowing, would be suitable. But here, he had no idea. He looked back to the door to see if the man who guided him had any advice, but the sight made him forget why he turned around in the first place.

The door was simply floating in the air, while the wall was nowhere to be seen, just like on the other side of the room. This space seemed somehow disconnected from the rest of the world, stretchi...

Chapter 14 - Lady of Fate

The time before the expedition passed quickly. Serah was back to her normal self after that night, but they never spoke about what happened. Her smiling face had felt ever so slightly like an act ever since, but John chose to let her keep her secrets. For now.

They sat together on a train, having left everything behind after saying their goodbyes. John’s mother had seemed a bit more accepting of the reality of the situation the day after he told her. He could sense there was still som...

Chapter 13 - Questions

Once again, John woke up in his old bed, looking at the familiar ceiling. His mother wasn’t sitting next to him this time, but that was to be expected. He had been gone for an entire day at this point.

The familiar smells and sounds really made him feel at home again, soothing his soul. Even if he was trying to keep himself sane in that other world, it wasn’t easy. And if it was hard for him, then it was probably worse for Serah.

He was about to get out of bed when he noticed ...

Chapter 12 - Director Lee’s Briefing

After John had demonstrated part of his ability with the greatsword, Serah stared at him with an unusual look. It seemed the greatness of the beautiful sword had taken hold of her. But John understood her well.

Karin also looked surprised, brushing her hair from her face. “... Where was that intensity when we were outside the gate?”

John replied with a hint of derision, “I didn’t really mesh with that sword. Too thin and light.” 

Karin chuckled. “Hah, gotcha...

Chapter 11 - Larang

The two of them walked to the armory after cleaning up the training room, both excited about their new equipment. Serah had only ordered standard equipment, so they were ready the next day. But John’s sword was unusual in its size and needed special instructions.

John still felt out of place in the clean and straight rooms here, feeling much more at home in the wilderness outside the walls.

‘It’s all too… neat.’

They reached the room soon enough, surprised...

Chapter 10 - Talent

The next day, both of them were brought to a testing facility. Serah had gotten her own room to sleep in, and while John was slightly disappointed, he didn’t dare to show it.

John didn’t need much testing due to Karin’s assessment of his abilities, but Serah hadn’t even fought a single barg before, in either world. So, she needed to be tested before anything could be decided for the future.

The room they were in was very similar to the one John had woken up in, but it had ...

Chapter 9 - Embrace

John was greeted by the darkness of the metal bed he had entered the simulation in, and quickly swung the door open. There was no time to waste.

“Vera! Has anything happened to Serah?” he yelled, hoping she would say everything was fine.

Vera sounded almost as panicked as John was as she responded, “Yes, a fire alarm went off, triggering the opening of her pod! Follow the lights!”

His fears had come true; something had happened during the testing. The fact that the l...

Chapter 8 - The Old Tree

The next day had been going surprisingly well so far. After waking up, John felt a bit calmer about his situation. But the highlight of the day was just coming up. John was dressed up and holding a basket of food in his hand, ready for the fateful date with Serah.

“You’re looking sharp, boy. I’m sure you’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“Of course I’ll be fine, I’m me!”

She chuckled softly. “I raised you, boy. Fake bravado doesn’t work on me. You better hope...

Chapter 7 - Back Home

After a short break and figuring out how to splash water on his face in the kitchen sink, John sat on the couch, staring out at his hometown through the simulated window. The sunset gave it all a soft orange hue, tempting him to return.

“... So I can go back home whenever I want?”

Vera responded with a careful voice, “Yes, as long as you’re in this facility. It will feel just like normal, but you won’t have the extra powers you get out here. And if another attack happens...

Chapter 6 - The Simulation

The light floating around in his core gave John a sense of power, but he couldn’t understand it. “... What’s an enchantment?” he asked, looking at Karin.

She had gotten up from the ground where she claimed one of the wargs, looking at him with a frustrated expression. “I can’t believe you got one on your second try! I’ve killed over 50 monsters, and I only have one!”

“My condolences, but what are they?” John asked, too curious to feel bad for her.

She sig...

Chapter 5 - Wargs

Looking toward the trees, John saw four much larger dog-like creatures approaching. They were nearly as tall as he was, with black skin and thick, powerful legs—monsters he had never seen before.

‘Oh, this might be a challenge!’

After quickly jumping toward his sword, he removed it from the corpse, swinging it widely to get rid of the blood. The familiar smell of their blackened blood made him grimace, reminding him of his first time killing these things.

He f...

Chapter 4 - Outside

The white lights led John from the pod room and past the door where the monster still lay on the floor. It was a long corridor, but the lights only continued for another 20 meters, turning left.

The omnipresent Vera still talked to him as he jogged along the corridor. “My logs tell me you prefer using a greatsword. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. Larger than most, I’m pretty sure.”

“Then I think I have one perfectly suited for you. If you like it, you can use ...

Chapter 3 - Answer

The unfamiliar words made little sense to John, but he still tried to figure them out. “Claim the kill? Explain.”

The man pointed at the dead monster. “Put your essence into the cadaver. You’ll see what I mean.”

John disliked following orders, especially from some stranger who probably kidnapped him. His last memories were from his home, which worried him greatly.

“Did you take anyone else? Did you hurt anyone?” he asked, desperate for some answers.

The m...

Chapter 2 - One Question

John was desperately trying to understand the situation. But before he could even make any conjecture, he heard the sound of claws tapping on the floor. 

A black dog-like creature was eyeing him like a slab of meat on the other side of the room. It bared its fangs and walked to the right, looking for an opening. Its skin was slick and bulging with muscles, and without a single strand of fur.

‘A barg? What the hell, is this some prank? Who would try to make me fight thes...